Logging was Ketchikan’s livelihood for most of the 20th century. The Ketchikan Spruce Mill sawed timber on the downtown waterfront for decades, and the pulp mill at Ward Cove was the region’s biggest employer until it closed in 1997. The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, staged on the old spruce-mill site, turns that history into an hour of entertainment.
Two teams of professional timber athletes — the audience is split to cheer one side each — race through a series of events drawn from real logging-camp competitions. It is loud, quick and deliberately corny, the performers are genuinely skilled, and it runs whatever the weather because the grandstand is covered and heated. If you are travelling with children, or it is pouring, this is the easiest hour in Ketchikan.
Top things to do: Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show
The chopping and sawing events
Underhand and springboard chops, single- and two-man crosscut sawing, and modified “hot saw” chainsaws that scream through a log in seconds.
The speed climb
Competitors in spurs and ropes race up 50-foot poles and drop back down almost in free fall — the moment everyone films.
Axe throwing and log rolling
A double-bladed axe thrown at a bullseye, then the finale: two lumberjacks on a spinning log in the pond, each trying to dump the other in the water.
Add the crab feast
A popular combination ticket pairs the show with an all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab meal — good value if you were planning a seafood lunch anyway.
How to get there
- Address: 420 Spruce Mill Way, behind the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center, one block inland from the waterfront.
- On foot: about 5 minutes from Berths 1 and 2, 10 minutes from Berth 3 and 15 from Berth 4.
- From Ward Cove: take the shuttle downtown and walk from the drop-off.
- Access: the venue is step-free with spaces for wheelchairs.
Insider tips
- There are usually several shows a day from May to September, timed around ship arrivals. Popular mid-morning shows sell out on busy days, so book ahead.
- Seating is unreserved within each section; arrive 15–20 minutes early for a front row.
- The front rows may get a little sawdust and the odd splash. That is part of the fun.
- The show lasts about 60 minutes; with the walk, allow an hour and a half out of your day.
- Afterwards, Creek Street is five minutes’ walk away.
Best tours for this sight
These bookable Ketchikan excursions fit best with a visit to Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show:
Show & meal from $158 Ketchikan: Lumberjack Show & Crab Feast
Two Ketchikan traditions in one ticket. First the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, where timber athletes race through axe, saw and tree-climbing events in a covered arena; then a sit-down feast of Dungeness crab, served until you have had enough. Easy, fun and weatherproof.
- An hour of chopping, sawing, climbing and log rolling
- All-you-can-eat Dungeness crab feast
- A short walk from the downtown cruise berths
Boat tour from $249 Bering Sea Crab Fishermen’s Tour
Sail out on a working crab boat with a crew of commercial fishermen. They haul pots of crab, octopus and prawns onto the deck, share first-hand stories of survival on the Bering Sea, and bald eagles swoop to snatch fish from the water. Educational, interactive and surprisingly moving.
- Watch crab pots hauled aboard a real crab-fishing vessel
- See crab, octopus and prawns up close on deck
- Bald eagles diving for fish beside the boat
Boat tour & meal from $194 Ketchikan: Jet Boat Tour with Rainforest Walk & Seafood Boil
A jet boat carries you through the bays and inlets around Ketchikan, followed by a walk on an elevated boardwalk trail through the rainforest and a seafood boil featuring Dungeness crab. Three experiences in under four hours.
- Jet-boat ride through bays and inlets
- Walk on an elevated rainforest boardwalk
- Seafood boil with Dungeness crab
